Rainy Day in Paris

Paris Street; Rainy Day, Gustave Caillebotte, 1877
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Today is our first day of summer vacation. While I had planned to pack up the littles and take them to our little neighborhood pool's opening day, at 64 degrees and rainy mother nature isn't cooperating. So instead we're off for a day of museum browsing and maybe a little lunch in the city.

Just a quick post to share one of my favorite rainy day paintings. So often I think of rainy days as being rather glum or perhaps rather the kind of day I'd like to stay in bed with a good book. Alas, with two pre-schoolers running around arguing who will be Master Yoda and who will be Darth Vader in their all day and all night Star Wars reenactments there is little chance of that for me today or any day for that matter. I should get back to today's painting pick.

A day spent walking in Paris, rainy or not is an inspirational day so when I look at  Gustave Caillebotte's painting, Paris Street; Rainy Day I don't see a gloomy day at all. I see one of excitement and new adventures. I wonder what the couple featured in the painting is looking at? Perhaps a new shop opening? A new building coming up? At the time this painting was created there was so much change going on in Paris I can only imagine how this neighborhood's residents were reacting.

As I was searching to find who owns this painting I was pleasantly surprised to learn it is The Art Institute of Chicago. If you haven't wandered through the galleries of this amazing museum you are missing out. It is an Impressionist lovers dream museum. The family and I will be in Chicago this summer and a stop at the Art Institute is on the top of my list. The painting is finishing up a traveling exhibition, that I was dying to see, Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity. And if you find yourself in New York City this Memorial Day weekend you can see it in person at the Met through May 27th. After that it'll be returning to Chicago.

Cheers,
Ouiser